Concrete block.



No. 33,721. 'PATBNTED 0013.16, 190e. W. KUPPER.

CONCRETE BLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED 1320.23, 1905.

INYENI'QR THE Hemus rsrlks fn., wAsHlNarnN, o. c4

WILLIAM KUPPER, or CLEVELAND, oHIo.

CONCRETE BLOCK.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented oct. 16, 1906.

Application led December 23,1905, Serial No. 293,095.

T0 a/ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM KUPPEE, a citizen of .the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Concrete Blocks; and I do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, .which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in concrete blocks, and has especial reference to the form of block covered by my application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 258,986, of May 5, 1905.

In the said application a form of block is disclosed which has the same terminal features substantially as the present invention, and Ventilating-openings also are provided for therein with a single complete opening through or in the body of the block; but a material defect has been discovered in the said block which it is the object of the present invention to overcome and is overcome thereby, and this objection consists in the fact that a block having bu-t a single complete opening vertically through its body and end extensions one-third its length cannot be Y laid Without causing a dangerline to come vertically the entire depth of the wall on the intersecting or meeting line of the terminals of the successive blocks in the several horizontal courses. These lines lie where the end of one block abuts against the bodyshoulder of the other, and in one course the abutment occurs on the outside of the wall and in the other on the inside, but on the same vertical line necessarily in both and all courses. Now this has been found objectionable, because this becomes the line of least resistance in the settling of a building or under any other severe strain to which the perfect integrity of a wallmay be subjected, and the result is that when the strain gets severe enough to cause a break it naturally runs along one or another of these weak lines vertically through the wall, and this manifestly is the worst thing that could occur in a wall that is theK exclusive support of the building. This objection is-aggravated further by reason of such a wall yielding to separation on such lines under comparatively light strains and which would not so affect the wall if it were rightly constructed. Hence the present invention is such as to 'section on line oc Fig. 2.

practically avoid and overcome the danger of vertical cleavage of the Wall under any circumstances and to build a wall which is of such solid form and is so perfectly knit together that it will retain its integrity under conditions which would split an` ordinary wall, and especially such as is represented in my original application above referred to.

To these ends my invention consists in a block having a body with a plurality of vertical ventilating-openings through its body and in which the body has at least double the length of each end portion, all substantially as shown and described, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a section of wall built up with my new and improved block, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a section of said wall partially sectioned at the left. Fig. 3 is a cross- Fig. 4 is-a perspective view of theblock itself.,

As thus shown, A represents a wall, and B the block or blocks from which the wall is constructed. All the blocks shown herein are straight or `flat-sided in their exposed faces but said faces or sides may be made` more or less circular or angular for towers, bay-windows, and the like without departing from the spirit of the invention. In its details the said block is formed with a distinct body 2 between its ends 3, and said body is the full width of the block from end to end and is provided with two or more vertical Ventilating openings 4, walled about, as shown, and adapted to register with corresponding openings in other blocks above and below to establish an open air-space vertically through the wall for reasons now well known. Each of the ends 3 is half the thickness of the block at its deepest point and has a recess 5 in its middle corresponding to half of one of the Ventilating-fines 4, and at each side of said recesses are shoulders 6 and 7, respectively, adapted to rest against corresponding shoulders or projections on the matching block, and all these blocks are exactly alike, so that they are interchangeable.

Now a distinguishing peculiarity of this block over the former one having a body onethird the entire length thereof is clearly developed in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Thus in Fig. 2 it will be seen that the objection of having the joint or meeting line of blocks coming in a straight line from top to bottom of the wall is wholly avoided, for the reason that now IOO there is a diagonal line of solid body portions (indicated by a) which come between upper and lower joints indicated by black lines 10 and intervening dotted lines 12, which mark joints at the rear of the wall. Hence if the wall were to crack or split the line of cleavage would again follow the least resistance, which would be in a zigzag step-by-step direction diagonally in such broken direction as would be the least harmful to the wal-l and building. Furthermore, this construction makes a much stronger wall than the other block by reason of having its strong body interposed in every third layer or course vdirectly across the meeting-points of the blocks immediately above and beneath the same. Obviously this is rendered possible only by reason of a lengthened body with a plurality of ventilating-openings and in which the intervening Wall 1-3 cornes directly in line With the joints l0 and 12 above and below. Said wall 13 is purposely made of such thickness as will provide the desired strength and resistance at this point.

The opposite faces band b ofthe block are of the same length and `straight and flat from end to yend, as shown herein, and each tace covers the full length of the body of the block and one of the ends thereof7 and in use the block may be reversed both as to ends 'and sides. Each end 3 is integral with the corresponding side of the block, and the shoulder i or flange 7 forms the immediate end of the block, while shoulder 6 is half-way in the end of body 2. Next to said shoulder the body has a flat face c, adapted to be matched by the flat end face d on flange 7 what r Claim isl A wall vcomposed of blocks, each of said blocks comprising a body portion and extensions extending from each end of said body portion but upon opposite sides thereof, said body port-ion having two vertical openings formed therethrough, one of said openings lying upon one side of the transverse medial line of said block and the other of said openings lying upon the opposite side of the said medial `line of said block, the end extensions of said blocks being of substantially half the length of the body portion of the block and.

having vertical channels formed in their inner faces and having shoulders formed on each side of said channels, whereby when the blocks 4are placed position the shoulders of adjacent extensions will lie tace to tace to form vertical air-spaces through the eXtensions of adjacent blocks, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I sign this speciiication in the presence `o1 two witnesses.

WILLIAM KUPPER. Witness es R. B. MosER, C. A. SEEL. 

